For flower farmers in southern Pakistan, life is anything but a bed of roses

Special For flower farmers in southern Pakistan, life is anything but a bed of roses
In this photograph, taken on August 10, 2024, Pakistani farmer, Shaukat Ali, plucks roses at a field in Masu Bhurgi district of Sindh province. (AN Photo)
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Updated 15 August 2024
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For flower farmers in southern Pakistan, life is anything but a bed of roses

For flower farmers in southern Pakistan, life is anything but a bed of roses
  • While farmers toil in rose fields, traders walk away with handsome profits after selling roses to buyers in cities
  • Farmers say lack of income makes it difficult for them to make ends meet, get children educated in schools

MASU BHURGRI, Sindh: As dawn breaks, casting a soft glow over the sprawling rose fields of Masu Bhurgri, Shaukat Ali is already hard at work. His hands, rough and scarred from years of tending the delicate fields, move with efficiency. Yet the beauty he cultivates stands in stark contrast to the harsh realities of his life.
For farmers like Ali, life is anything but a bed of roses. They toil under the scorching sun with their backs bent over thorny bushes, only to see the fruits of their labor reaped by middlemen who fetch hefty prices for the roses in city markets.
 “We produce flowers, do the work of fragrance, but in our lives there are always thorns and thorns,” a dejected Ali told Arab News.
Rose farming is a profession that requires a lot of labor and doesn’t pay well. As Pakistan groans under the weight of double-digit inflation, supporting a family of 12 for a poor man like Ali can be a herculean task.
 “We have to take care of it for a whole year, till its soil, give it fertilizer and water it,” Ali explained the process of growing roses. “Its work continues for seven days and then finally it becomes ready.”




This photograph, taken on August 10, 2024, shows roses at a field in Masu Bhurgi district of Sindh province. (AN Photo)

Javed Vighio, a local trader, acknowledged rose farmers for toiling in the fields. He said Sindh’s Hyderabad and neighboring Matiari districts are key producers of red roses. The flowers are cultivated on around 50,000 acres of land in the two districts and produce up to 40 truckloads per day to meet the demands of the flower markets of Hyderabad and Karachi cities.
“Most of the hard work is done by the farmer,” Vighio admitted while weighing a sack of roses and recording its weight in a register. His helpers packed the roses in buckets with ice in between, a handy tactic to keep them fresh till they are delivered to the Teen Hatti flower wholesale market in Karachi, around 180 kilometers away.
While rose farmers toil in the sun all day long, the fruits of their labor are enjoyed by middlemen who walk away with the lion’s share of the revenue.
Vighio and other local traders pay an advance sum of Rs50,000 [$179.49] to Rs100,000 [$358.97] per year to the farmers for one acre of land. They buy the roses at a price of Rs85-90 [$0.31-0.32] per kilogram from the farmers and in Karachi, sell them to other traders for up to Rs200 [$0.72] per kilogram. 
But when sold to buyers, a single rose fetches a lucrative price of Rs40-100 [$0.14-0.36].




In this photograph, taken on August 10, 2024, Pakistani farmer, Shaukat Ali, plucks roses at a field in Masu Bhurgi district of Sindh province. (AN Photo)

While red roses dominate these districts in Sindh, other seasonal flowers are also grown.
In Karachi, major traders like Syed Arif Raza Naqvi and others await trucks of red roses to unload them. These roses are then sorted out for various uses, including the making of medicines, perfumes, drinks, bouquets, garlands, and decorations for weddings and funerals.
“The rose petals arrive from Punjab’s Multan and Lahore cities but they arrive in the form of petals, which takes one or two days,” he told Arab News, explaining the process. “This is a journey of hours from Hyderabad, so the fresh roses arrive from there.”
Naqvi said that if there are excess petals left, they are dried and exported to the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Sri Lanka. 




In this photograph, taken on August 10, 2024, Pakistani farmer, Shaukat Ali, shows plucked roses at a field in Masu Bhurgi district of Sindh province. (AN Photo)

During the off-season, Naqvi said around 15,000 kilograms of flowers are traded, meeting local market needs and providing roses for flower shops across different cities in Sindh.
In the fields of Hyderabad and Matiari, farmers say their hard work doesn’t pay much.
 “We wake up very early in the morning at Fajr [early morning prayers] time and come to harvest in the dark,” Ali said while picking flowers. “We do the work, but people from the city eat the fruits of our labor.”
Ali pointed out how he couldn’t afford to educate his children, who were old enough to go to school. 
“Flowers are very good, but we know the thorns that prick us,” he said wistfully.




This photograph, taken on August 10, 2024, shows buckets full of roses assembled for sell in Masu Bhurgi district of Sindh province. (AN Photo)

 


Pakistan name spin trio for second England Test

Pakistan name spin trio for second England Test
Updated 10 sec ago
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Pakistan name spin trio for second England Test

Pakistan name spin trio for second England Test
  • The hosts made four changes from the side beaten by an innings in the first Test, including bringing in Kamran Ghulam
  • The 29-year-old has performed well in domestic cricket, having set a national record of 1,249 runs in the 2020-21 season

MULTAN: Pakistan named three spinners in their team for the second Test against England starting on Tuesday as they chase a series-levelling win on a re-used Multan stadium pitch.
The hosts made four changes from the side beaten by an innings in the first Test, including bringing in batsman Kamran Ghulam for his debut.
The 29-year-old has performed well in domestic cricket, having set a national record of 1,249 runs in the 2020-21 season.
The spin bowling will be handled by left-armer Noman Ali, leg-break bowler Zahid Mahmood and off-spinner Sajid Khan, all brought into the side.
Pakistan left out ace batsman Babar Azam from the first Test along with the pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, and spinner Abrar Ahmed. He is still unwell.
England thumped the home team by an innings and 47 runs on Friday after the tourists compiled a mammoth 823-7 declared in reply to Pakistan’s first-innings 556.
Squad: Shan Masood (captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood


Pakistan’s rice exports surged to $4 billion in FY24 compared to $2.15 billion last year

Pakistan’s rice exports surged to $4 billion in FY24 compared to $2.15 billion last year
Updated 20 min 10 sec ago
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Pakistan’s rice exports surged to $4 billion in FY24 compared to $2.15 billion last year

Pakistan’s rice exports surged to $4 billion in FY24 compared to $2.15 billion last year
  • State media says favorable weather, “abundant” resources helped Pakistan export six million tons of rice 
  • Pakistan’s commerce minister said country aims to increase revenue from rice exports to $7 billion this year

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan generated $4 billion in revenue during financial year 2024 by exporting six million tons of different types of rice, state media reported on Monday, citing favorable weather conditions and “abundant” agricultural resources as the main reasons for the surge in exports. 

Pakistan exported rice worth $4 billion this year compared to $2.15 billion last year, benefiting largely from India’s more-than-a-year-long ban on rice exports to fulfill its domestic needs. India announced in September it was lifting the ban, prompting Pakistan to lift the minimum export price for all rice varieties in the country. 

India and Pakistan are the only two countries that produce basmati rice which is famous for its unique flavor and aroma. India has been the largest exporter of rice worldwide, followed by Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam.

“With the support of the Special Investment Facilitation Council, Pakistan has earned revenue of four billion dollars from rice exports,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported, referring to Pakistan’s top hybrid civil-military body formed last year to attract foreign investment in the country’s vital economic sectors. 

“During the fiscal year 2024, Pakistan exported more than 6 million tons of different varieties of rice due to favorable weather conditions and abundant availability of agricultural resources.”

Shahjahan Malik, former chairman of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan, said exporters have set a fresh target of $5 billion for rice exports for the next financial year. He added that a comprehensive strategy based on “modern seed research and quality agricultural practices” would be developed to enhance exports further. 

Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal had said the country aimed to boost its rice exports to as much as $7 billion to support its dwindling economy. 


Three Pakistani policemen killed in attack at police headquarters

Three Pakistani policemen killed in attack at police headquarters
Updated 14 October 2024
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Three Pakistani policemen killed in attack at police headquarters

Three Pakistani policemen killed in attack at police headquarters
  • Militants storm police headquarters in district Bannu, say police 
  • Militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban claims responsibility for attack

PESHAWAR: At least three policemen were killed in northwest Pakistan when militants stormed a district police headquarters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday, a police source told Reuters.

The attack on the complex, which houses both the district police headquarters and a residential complex, was ongoing, the high-ranking police source said, adding that the assailants, who included suicide bombers, had been “pinned down” in the area.

Three assailants were killed by police, he added.

The source, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said three policemen were killed while resisting the assault on the Police Lines of District Bannu, which borders the restive North Waziristan tribal district on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, a spokesperson for the group said.

The roads around the complex have been closed to traffic as security forces moved to neutralize the remaining attackers, the police source added.

Bannu is about 350 kilometers from Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, which is under strict security lockdown due to the arrival of Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday ahead of a regional leaders’ meeting this week. 
 


Second batch of 61 Palestinian medical students leave for Pakistan to continue studies

Second batch of 61 Palestinian medical students leave for Pakistan to continue studies
Updated 14 October 2024
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Second batch of 61 Palestinian medical students leave for Pakistan to continue studies

Second batch of 61 Palestinian medical students leave for Pakistan to continue studies
  • A total of 192 Palestinian medical students from war-torn Gaza will continue fully funded studies in Pakistani institutions
  • Initiative launched through collaboration between Doctors of Rehman, Global Relief Trust and Al-Khidmat Foundation

ISLAMABAD: A second batch of 61 Palestinian medical students from Gaza out of 192 left Cairo on Monday to travel to Pakistan where they plan to continue their studies, the Pakistani embassy in Egypt said. 

The second batch of Palestinian students left for Islamabad hours after the first batch arrived in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore from Cairo. The embassy said the Palestinian students will continue their studies in Pakistani medical universities on fully funded programs under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s directions. 

Pakistan’s foreign ministry announced in July that the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) will provide scholarships to over 100 Palestinian students so that they are able to continue their medical studies in Pakistan as Israel’s war wreaks havoc in the Middle East. The initiative is a collaboration between Doctors of Rehman, Global Relief Trust and leading Pakistani non-governmental organization, the Al-Khidmat Foundation. 

“Under the directions of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, and special efforts of Global Relief Trust, Doctors of Rahman, and Al-Khidmat Foundation, the second batch of 61 Palestinian students from Gaza left Cairo for Islamabad today,” Pakistan’s Embassy in Cairo said. 

It said Pakistan embassy officials and the Al-Khidmat Foundation representatives facilitated the Palestinian students’ departure at the Cairo International Airport.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has killed over 42,000 people in Gaza through relentless bombardment despite ceasefire calls and angry protests in several countries around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that cases of meningitis, jaundice, impetigo, chickenpox and other upper respiratory tract infections have been recorded in Gaza. Almost 600,000 cases of acute watery diarrhea have been recorded due to lack of clean water and other causes, as well as other waste-borne diseases. 

Several international media outlets have reported significant destruction of hospitals and universities in Gaza since October last year.

The WHO and other sources have documented severe damage to the area’s health care facilities, including the largest hospital Al-Shifa, which has been rendered non-functional due to extensive damage in the ongoing conflict.

There have also been widespread reports of substantial damage to educational institutions along with reports of deliberate targeting of Palestinian academics.


Pakistan steps up security ahead of regional leaders’ meeting

Pakistan steps up security ahead of regional leaders’ meeting
Updated 30 min 19 sec ago
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Pakistan steps up security ahead of regional leaders’ meeting

Pakistan steps up security ahead of regional leaders’ meeting
  • Pakistan announces three-day holiday in Islamabad with schools, businesses shut 
  • Threat alert in country has been high especially after suicide attack targeting Chinese nationals 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s capital was under strict security lockdown starting Monday ahead of the arrival of Chinese Premier Li Qiang for a four-day bilateral visit and a heads-of-government gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this week.

The government has announced a three-day public holiday in Islamabad, with schools and businesses shut, and large contingents of police and paramilitary forces deployed.

Pakistan army troops will be responsible for the security of the capital’s Red Zone, which will house most of the meetings and is also home to parliament and a diplomatic enclave, according to interior ministry.

The threat alert has been high in the South Asian nation ahead of the SCO summit meeting, especially after the killing of two Chinese engineers and shooting to death of 21 miners.

Tensions have mounted after jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan called for a protest on Oct. 15 to press for his release and agitate against the coalition government, following violent clashes between his party loyalists and security forces.

Islamabad has sought to curb all movement of Chinese nationals in the city, citing fears of violence from separatist militants.

The SCO’s 23rd meeting, which comprises nine full members including China, India, Iran and Russia, is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Islamabad.

Prime Minister Li is undertaking a bilateral visit to Pakistan from Monday to Thursday, accompanied by senior officials, Pakistan’s foreign office said.

Li and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will lead their respective delegations to discuss economic and trade ties and cooperation under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment in the South Asian country under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Li is also likely to inaugurate the CPEC funded Gwadar International Airport in restive southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

The SCO participants will be represented by the prime ministers of China, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as the first vice president of Iran and external affairs minister of India, the foreign office said.